Everyone Wants to Go to the Island

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2008)

No, they haven't made Lost: The Movie yet. The Island is a part sci-fi thriller part chase movie part dark side of man type of movie. It stars Ewan McGregor in a role that reminds me of the movie that made him famous. No, I'm not talking about Moulin Rouge, but rather his role in Trainspotting. It's a deeper role than he usually plays these days. In this role he must play someone who is naive but at the same time curious and precocious. He is a person who is both lost and found, confident of himself and yet very afraid. Co-star Scarlett Johansson plays his soul mate and at the same time gets to make use of all the commercials she has starred in. Good job.
Lincoln Six Echo is having nightmares. He is on a boat with a beautiful woman (Johansson, who plays Jordan Two Delta) and is about to join her at the helm, when he gets pushed off the boat and drowns. Other than that, he is doing well in his life. Like the rest of his neighbors, he wears only white, is on a strict diet, and has fun playing simulated Knockout with Jordan Two Delta, his lady friend. Other than the nightmares, his main problem is that he is so darn curious. His job by day is to put drops of food into little holes that go into tubes. Lincoln wants to know where the tubes go and gets a stern look.
The ultimate dream of all of his friends and neighbors is to win the lottery and get chosen to go to the island, which is the only area that was not contaminated. It gives them hope and something to look forward to. Near the beginning of the film, Jordan gets chosen to go to the island. That night, Lincoln discovers what going to the island really means, and they escape from the only life they have known. This is where the film becomes more of a chase movie. It had some plot similarities to The Matrix with the emotional feel of Soylent Green.
This was an enjoyable movie that gave me good entertainment for a couple hours. Like most science fiction, I spent the first half of it in a dazed state. Then when I saw what was behind the curtain, it was like an awakening. During this part, I stared at the screen and annoyed my boyfriend by saying, "What's that? What IS that?" He didn't know either, but we figured it out eventually. In that way, I got the horror of discovering, along with Ewan and Scarlett, the truth about The Island.